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Elio Motors Scam – They Can’t Make it to Production

Elio Motors Scam, what does that mean? While I really hope this three-wheeled car company can make it to production, I sort of doubt they ever will. Here is why.

Rough Road to secure the Shreveport Plant

Elio Motors has had a hell of a time securing a plant to actually produce and build the 3-wheeled Elio car/trike or whatever you want to call it. As my CarNewsCafe colleagued reported Elio has had to resort to creative financing and lease deals to finally secure a shuttered General Motors plant in Shreveport, Louisiana. How this deal worked out is an outside company, Caddo, has bought the plant through a real estate property trust. This trust has leased the the facility to a property management company and through this company it is now being rented out to Elio Motors so they can supposedly get production rolling.

For awhile it seemed like Elio was not going to get the funding for Elio plant but it did work out in the end. The advantage for Shreveport, LA is that Elio plant should create 1,500 jobs and be a boost to the local economy. If they make it to production and sell cars.

Financials and Production Goals do NOT Make Sense

Aaron Turpen wrote a great editorial about how Elio Motors is not Viable even if they do receive all the funding they need. Here is a breakdown of how they expect to make money on the selling the Elio trikes and how much money they will make on each model.

For starters, the breakdown of costs and profits on each unit produced and sold is not very encouraging. They aim for a $5,959 sticker price (this, of course, is the dealer’s wholesale price, the price Elio charges to the dealership for the car, not the final MSRP for the consumer). They arrive at a cost of about $4,368 per unit and an actual margin of about $1,000, the other $591 being eaten up by non-manufacturing costs like their plant retail store, advertising cost per unit, and warranty/liability coverage.

While a lot of industries making a $1,000 per unit sold sounds good, in automotive manufacturing it isn't that great.

Simple math says that if Elio makes $1,000 per car built and sold and has raised $250 million in funding (roughly the current money raised plus future requirements to get the plant operational), then they would have to sell.. 250,000 cars just to enter the realm of profitability. They expect to reach a steady 250k units per year within the first two or three years of operation, with their first year being a huge 68,000 or so units, and so expect profitability within five years – laudible, but probably not realistic given the sales numbers required.

While it might be possible for Elio to sell a few thousand cars per year in the first year of production, I'm doubtful they are going to get to achieve 250,000 units in a couple of years. Tesla Motors, a media darling, has been around for almost 10 years and is still building roughly 20,000 cars each year. This is in also in a shuttered GM/Toyota facility that required significant upgrades and retooling to get operational. Can Elio expect to beat Tesla's production numbers?

Not even luxury automakers meet the yearly sales Elio Motors is hoping to achieve.

In fact, 68,333 units (the actual number Elio wants to build in less than a year) would be more cars than Jaguar-Land Rover sold last year combined. Between them, those two premium nameplates, who both have a rich history and long-established reputation in the market, managed to sell only 50,000 cars last year. It’s also more than Mitsubishi sold and is close to the total sales for Volvo.

Although it should be pointed out that the Elio is not meant to be a luxury car. It's a car that appeals to the masses but they still have production restraints to consider. We've talked about some of the production issues on CarNewsCafe Podcast 14 where we emphasize the large number of failures in the auto industry. (Aptera, Tucker, Lit Motors, etc.) We also discussed this in the CarNewsCafe Podcast 11 as well.

Well these reservations do look good it is still unclear how many of these people have put down the full $1,000 “All In” deposit for an Elio. If all 34,000 put down $1,000 that would be $34 million dollars Elio Motors has in the bank. Pretty unlikely as they have different reservation increments from $100-$1000 and it seems most people do not opt for the All In reservation deposit. Still the company has shown there is demand for the 3-wheeler and Aaron's Elio Motors Review has a massive amount of views has also shown this.

Elio Motors Scam

The truth is everyone in the automotive/motor press does hope that Elio can make it to production. We'd all like to enjoy inexpensive, reliable, and American-made transportation. (You know, since writers don't make much money.) Likely I'd buy one if they starting producing them. It just seems like there are so many hurdles to get to this point still I'm doubtful it will happen and the Elio Motors Scam is real.

There are still many questions to be answered. Can they be profitable? Does that matter? How long will it take them to turn a profit? How much retooling and upgrades to the Shreveport plant do they need to do? Paul Elio will be able to get the Elio into production?

If you have a thought about Elio Motors, leave a comment below and let me know. Do you believe

289 thoughts on “Elio Motors Scam – They Can’t Make it to Production”

I put in my $1,000 some months ago (I believe I’m something like 5,880 on the reservation list), and I have no doubt this car will be built. I’m an old guy, in my mid 70’s and maybe I’m a dreamer. But, I’m positive it will happen, and plan to be driving my silver Elio about this same time next year. Peace.

I hope they make it to production as well but the financials just don’t add-up if you read the article I linked too. If they do make it to production and start selling Elios, I’d like to see an Electric Elio as that would make a lot of sense as a commuter car.

An electric Elio? I seriously doubt it. Where would they put the batteries? The weight of a conventional battery pack would kill mileage, and the limited space would limit the range severely. Victory Motorcycles’ electric Empulse 2-wheel sport bike lists for $19,999–double the price of the gasoline Elio, and with a range of about 65 miles. Even if they can overcome the engineering obstacles, an all-electric Elio would likely be a pricey item, and I think Elio is trying to court the low-cost market.

I see no way that the big 3 in the US will allow the Elio to happen. They have already kept any other cars (being sold outside the us that get 55+ MPG) from being sold in the US despite being designed by US Companies. I was hoping for Elio, but am now doubting it will happen.

I called pep boys and they said NO info about service for Elio has been sent to there stores yet. Did you call PepBoys in your town? Email mediarelations@pepboys.com to get the real story. I was a parts store manager years ago and we where lucky to know about a big change 30 days before it started. it’s not a store manager’s pay grade to know Pepboys Elio service deal. We don’t have a 100% set in stone engine yet! how can you stock parts yet for anything and training your service tech’s? Cart before the horse! Elio could do a deal with Sears auto if pepboys can’t do it. Lets get the first one built!

The Pep Boys in my city are a bunch of goons that have no concept of customer service and barely understand regular cars. Plus – they all speak spanish so I have no idea how much they are ripping me off. I would’t trust them, but I am concerned that this car may never actually go to production.

My only experience with Pep Boys has been enough to put me off for LIFE! Job not done right: another 80 mile round trip; still not corrected, a THIRD ROUND TRIP. Not to mention the multiple hours wasted…so draw your own conclusions.

Come on. Goons? It their jobs and their efforts no more less important than the rest of ours. By the way, McDonald’s workers truly earn what little they make and should be applauded for what have to deal with.

Talk about focusing on the potato instead of the meat. The point is the boots on the ground would have no idea what is going on in the actual decision making processes until it’s time for them to know.

Your focus is on the wrong thing. The focus needs to be on the fact you can’t expect some regular employee at a random pepboys to know anything about the future dealings with Elio. Those discussions are still between upper decision makers.

“Councilwoman Stephanie Lynch City of Shreveport on 2016-07-14 wrote:
This is nothing but a lie. Elio does not have a plant in Shreveport. They do not have a lease and we have not received one red cent from them. This is a definite conflict of interest on Stu Lichter’s part, and unethical on Paul Elio’s part. The Commission should pull the plug on this contract immediately.

I also put in $1,000. I don’t think there will be cars produced in 2016. They are still talking about building 25+ prototypes before they begin production. If they build 1 per month it will take them into 2017 if there are funds available to do that. The problem I have with Elio is they marketed cars going into production for sale in 2013, 2014, and 2015. I put my money in because I was expecting a car! Because of this I feel I was taken. This was not presented as a marketing exercise to collect the most money they could, which they might use to produce cars.

Mitsubishi makes and markets a 3 cylinder car in the USA that gets 37-44 miles per gallon, and nobody wants it. They have us believing they have something better than that, but I don’t think it is.

Sorry to hear you feel that way Tony but I can understand how you feel. Spending $1,000 is a lot of money for some people. Perhaps Paul Elio will abscond with all the deposits and it is just a marketing ploy and scam. Hard to say, I don’t know.

Yeah, they prototype thing is kind of crazy. I’m not sure why they need so many different prototype models. Gives them something to tell people that put down deposits for the Elio I guess.

Are you referring to the Mitsubishi Mirage? That’s the only 3-cylinder Mitsubishi I know of. Yeah that’s not the best car in the world.

Honestly it’s built more for emerging car markets where having any car is better than not having one. For the US market it doesn’t make much sense though.

Can you tell me why you originally put down a deposit on the Elio? What was your thought process and expectations at that point? Did you believe in the project and assume they would go into production or did you know you were taking a gamble?

I put my money in Elio because all the marketing I read on their site stated they were going into production in 2014. I was about to need another car in 2014…so why not? They presented the message and the product as if it was a go.

While there is usually an element of truth in Elio’s pronouncements, it is almost certainly guaranteed that there is an element of spin and deception. I really don’t care to dig so deep any more, just to figure out what small sliver of their statements are true and/or to prove what the deception is.

As I see it, there is clearly some link between EMI and the old Hummer plant in Shreveport. The legalities no longer concern me. One, because I’m not invested. Two, because I’m already convinced that EMI is an unethical, deceptive, dishonest company.

It would be great if they actually produced a vehicle, because of all the good people who have invested, and would like to own the anticipated product.

While I still have my doubts that they will ever reach production under current leadership/management, it does appear that some R&D has begun. As such, the final specs are already starting to shift away from the original and even the more recent advertising claims. If things continue to progress, that shift will continue. Already some of the loyalists are starting to concede that things will not be as advertised/promised.

Production date and time has shifted so much that only the deluded still pretend to believe anything there. The latest issue seems to be stamped steel vs SMC body panels. Price is still being held on to by a few, but most realize that the $6800 will never happen. From wipers to performance to weight to fuel economy, people are starting to realize that everything is up in the air until at least two generations real prototypes (euphemistically called engineering prototypes) are built and tested.

There was a cross-dressing man in the 60’s that pulled a three wheel, high mileage scam. He was arrested. He had a prototype that consisted of 2X4s and fiberglass. He scammed millions from folks around the world. Let’s hope Elio isn’t doing the same thing.

He or an excellent lawyer has wrote up the advertisements. If you read them carefully he is guaranteeing nothing. They are either expecting or hoping for mileage top speed etc. How could they tell you all the specs on the car when an engine was not even built at the time?

It’s no wonder we have racial, sexual and other prejudices in this country.
What does cross dressing have to do with prototype cars ??? Why does this person feel a need to show his/her disgusting thought process on this blog ?

Well it is a fact. A man pretending to be a woman scammed many investors out of millions on a fake 3 wheel car. When he was finally captured it was at that point that it turned out that not only the car was fake but so was the woman who claimed to have 3 children and was the widow of a NASA scientist. He was a con man. Google the DALE and Twentieth Century Motor Car Corporation. All done by a con man pretending to be a woman in the 70’s. So tired of the PC gay bullshit.

once they get the go-ahead to build this car i don’t see a production problem there really isn’t anything to this car..un fortunately its very hard to build a car in our country because if you build a better one than the big three they will put the squeeze on any company and force it out of business before it gets off the ground look at tucker and the crap he went through.Henry ford had some what the same problem but only it was the bankers that he fought with because they told him he was trying to sell his model t too cheap and he wanted every one even the common man to be able to afford his automobile.i believe the elio will get built as long as others don’t sabotage it.

Even if you showed up to build your own car, it’s unlikely that a single ELIO will be built and delivered to customers who have made a deposit. They don’t seem like a company that really has a plan that inspires trust – or more importantly, could build vehicles.

I agree with Tony. They run out the same song and dance each year, “We’ll be producing this year (or early next year)” every year since 2013. Also the councilwoman’s note that they do not have a facility, I posted that it was a scam a couple of years ago, they practically threatened a lawsuit and huffed and puffed, plus reminded me that there is no way you get your money back. So beware if you don’t mind giving away your hard earned money.

You ARE A DREAMER !! I have watched this car since 2009 & each year they were going into production, Not going to happen !!!! You cannnot buy a brand new motorcycle with the same size engine for under $13,000 & you think that are going to be able to sell you this car for $6800.00—Not going to happen, They are scamming ALL OF you people into giving them deposits, based on an absurd selling price ,of which you will never recover when they go belly up.

I’ll admit that Paul Elio and Elio Motors have surprised me with their fundraising efforts utilizing the JOBS act provisions. In addition they have something like $20+ million deposits from potential Elio owners. I still don’t seem them getting the Depart of Energy loan though as their sales numbers make little sense.

Considering the car is supposed to be no frills and made from readily available parts Ron, I think they could potentially make it under $10,000. For $6,800 or probably over $7,000 when factoring taxes and dealerships fees, that would be difficult.

It’s possible Elio will get the DOE loan, meet sales numbers, and sell cars for that price. 🙂

Adam, is it for sure that they are planning to go through dealerships? I was under the impression that they planned to sell direct to the consumer and cut out the middle man. Also, the reviewer pointed out that Tesla is not selling anywhere near the units Elio promises, but a Tesla is out of reach for most people. I think back to the stories of the Volkswagen back in the day. I think there are plenty of ways Elio can make money and produce the cars. Has anyone looked into how much they plan to pay their employees? While I’m sure they can provide 1500 jobs, I doubt that their employees will make above $10/hr.

Go to the Elio website. The base price is $7300 and the nicely equipped model is over $13,000.
If they do make it, the cost will be more money and that will be about where all other manufactures would want for a competitive purposes. The old adage still goes, “If it is too good to be true, It is”. I also would like to see Elio start manufacturing and be available to the public. But I do not see it happening.
This looks more and more like a Ponzi scheme. I hope that all investors get their investments worth. Right now, the courts need to get involved as Elio is still taking in millions of dollars from the public.

Tom Moran, YOU are a hard headed dreamer—You really think that the ELIO is going to go into production—I have been watching this car since 2009—-every year since then ELIO was going to go into production —-now 2015 is nearing it’s end & they are now up to 2016 —-YOU LOST YOUR $1000.00 my friend, pure & simple!!!

Definitely still doesn’t seem Elio Motors will make it to production Ron. Although they have raised a lot of money. I certainly will not put down a deposit on the Elio though. Appreciate you commenting here Tom.

We are 14 days from the start of 2017,and still no word on pre production startup time frame. There was a three wheel car scam in the mid 70’s called the “Dale”. Lots of shiny brochures and press announcements but the car never made it to production. There were a lot of of red-faced suckers with empty pockets.

I have to ask because I don’t see any dates on this page. Today is October 26th, 2015 and Elio says they don’t expect to build anything until “next year” – same mantra as when they started a few years back.

Sorry to say, I think your money is LONG GONE. I’m 64, been in the car business all my life, (48) yrs. Have you ever heard of the Dale?, The Sparrow, and many more. Very nice ideas, but big dreamers and scammers. I do say some are dreamers, some are scammers. Elio, I think actually has a good idea. but will never see the light of day. TOO many obstacles in their path. Most of this money will be spent trying, but will unfortunately be lost in a deboggle of red tape.

It’s not clear what Paul Elio and Elio Motors have done with the money at this point. I am just aware that Elio has raised a ton of money from people putting down deposits and investors using a start-up act provision for fundraising.

The money could have gone into paying for the jobs that were promised to that county in Louisiana which still have not materialized. Maybe the money is in a Swiss or Cayman Islands bank account? 🙂

What do you mean “been in the car business all my life” Barry? Are you an auto salesman, auto engineer, mechanic, etc?

Well over 46 years….. Way too long….. Would like to retire, but???!!!…..I’ve been and Advisor, Technician, Shop Forman, Service manager, Salesman, and now Business Development Manager. Approx 17 yrs w Porsche/Audi/Volkswagen, (same dealership) 14 Ford, 7 Toyota, 6 Chevrolet, balance, various……Not saying I know everything, I try to keep an open mind, and learn new things as they come along. Life though has taught me to keep a keen eye on things that are vastly different or seem too good to be true. Seems that my “hunches” are usually more right than wrong… Maybe I should say I’m well “seasoned”??

Are you asking me Pat? To be clear I have NOT put down a deposit on an Elio and do not intend to in the near future. If Paul Elio and Elio Motors get vehicles rolling off the assembly line I will considering buying one. I do like the idea but as I’ve stated many times in these comments it seems like the business plan is being somewhat unrealistic.

I hope you will be driving the vehicle, but I would not bet money on it. I am also in my 70s& would buy one in a minute. The problem I see is that we grew up in a honest & trusting age. Surprise, that no longer happens, just look whoe is running our country -crooks, liers, cheats, & Obama. I rest my case. Elio may be legit, but I bet the money grabbers do not want us to have cheap transportation. Bless you, I hope I am wrong, & that you will be driving your Elio real soon.

I’m 71 and waiting for this to come out. I was too young for the Edsel, too poor for the Delorean. If these get to the street, I’ll own one. I’m just not going to put up $1K in hope money. If they get here
I’ll be in one.
Art

Did someone actually give you a reason to believe there will be a car for you to take delivery on. I have a reservation from the first year and they have lied about the date of production from the start. It’s a scam and they had no possible way to make the production date used in the early solicitations. They knew that and misled potential customers.
Paul Elio is proving to be a scam artist from the start. I heard that the FBI is now investigating the complaints of fraud and the taking of money under false pretenses – on a national scale and the FCC and senate investigations are also gearing up on the false claims used in securing investors.
The fact that they are just now getting to so many steps that should have been, but never were disclosed early on, proves their contempt for investors. They are the most arrogant group of hucksters in the business and their marketing is getting old and tired when they hype a car they can’t produce, take money as if they can and will go into production and treat the people who make deposits like trash. Most of the money they collect goes into marketing the false claims.
If you think there is an ELIO in your future, it won’t be in this lifetime. They are touting one mockup as if it’s the second coming of Christ. In fact, it’s just the ticket to keep stringing investors along for the ride that Paul Elio created on the scale of one the most pathetic scams in recent memory. It’s not the biggest business swindle in history but it reeks just the same. The stench of the hype and the deceit is just as noxious as any scam in history. In the dictionary, it would be no surprise to see next to he definition of scam – swindle, cheat, deceive, trick, dupe, hoodwink, double-cross (and eventually the word) ELIO.
The hype is your first indicator of the mom and apple pie, the flag and patriotic spirit of building something in America – but there is nothing being built to sell. It’s a myth. They have only now competed a pretender to show and give the illusion buyers will someday take delivery. They told people they would have their cars years ago and they were years away from production – that no one can actually prove will ever go into production.

Go Tom! I’m with you…all good things start with a DREAM NOT A SCAM! I plan to go for it too. $500-$1,000 I’ve lost in a casino in a few hours. The Wright brothers were criticized, yet they got that first plane in the air!

The Wright brothers financed themselves. Thats right. Never got a dime from investors or the government. Samuel Langley, on the other hand, got $50,000 from the government back inthe 1890’s to build an airplane and never did. And that was a hell of a lot of money back in those days.

Yes and what’s wrong with these dumb people here, or non Americans. This is all real
and as of tonight 09/24 there is only 5,532 left to order. Yes this stuff is all old here and kind of funny and dumb. On 9/22/16 the number was 5653. I think this is no scam no way in hell. LOL Bunch of retards. Scam B.S. i SAY. Numbers will go way up when all the dumb fk’s can’t get one in two years. You and I will soon enough which is A GREAT PRICE! You can’t get a motorcycle at that price 36k mile warranty AC all the latest gadgets etc. OH will the price go up next year, LOL too funny Silly site here. They made me have to go online and look it all up, all for NOT and waste my time.

You got that right Vin. If I had money to burn I would buy the last 5000+ “reservations” just to see what Elio will do next. Choose from this list – or make up your own.

A) Find another reason why the car won’t go into production until “the next quarter”
B) Start a whole new “reservation” scheme for those people who “missed out” on the first “reservation” scheme, thus raising another 30 or 40 million dollars to send to his offshore bank account.
C) Use some of the “reservation” money to buy off enough politicians to approve his government grant.
D) Reveal a new “calamity” preventing production from beginning,. like maybe he lost his lease on the “factory”.
E) One of his “suppliers” (by the way, he has probably never paid a dime to any of them) has backed out or run into serious “technical” problems which will delay production. Maybe for years. But don’t worry. If Elio ever produces three wheelers the people who paid in their reservation money will get it at the agreed price. Or maybe their great grand children will. Maybe.

I invite anyone interested in Elio motors to read their Form 10 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission this year. It’s an eye opener. You can find it here.

Elio representatives failed to appear at a pre-hearing held by the Louisiana Motor Vehicle Commission tonight. The pre-hearing was to discuss possible violations of the law. Elio is looking more and more guilty of fraud everyday.

I believe the man behind the Elio surely read about Paul Moller of Davis, CA and his decades of “development” and “investors” for his FLYING CAR. Elio is not much different, just a place for pie eyed dreamers to lose their money.
I honestly feel bad for these “investors”, and believe they are actually DONORS. Don’t give more than you can afford to DONATE, folks.
Another fine example of this type of activity is the electric and gas powered three wheelers that were developed by Corbin. The Sparrow actually made it to small production, then buckled. Their v-twin powered 3 wheel bucket could never be cured of it’s crankshaft/transmission destroying ways and faded after just a handful were built.
My credentials: I own a Grinnall Scorpion III. I’ve been driving it since 2000 here in the USA.

04/27/2017
I live 5 miles from the since vacated GM facility in Caddo Parish and have had a watchful eye on things transpiring in the community. It also falls on the corruption on the North Louisiana Economic Committee with the urging of the City of Shreveport and Caddo Parish at large with courting all of the Elio bull crap. Yes, I saw GM come and go. I saw similar with the AT&T Call Center now laying in ruins after 5 or so years. Yes I saw an economic boost in the area with each. Most were transferred from other areas rather than trained from our local labor pool. Yes, stores profited, home sales boomed, economic growth was limited to a very few. Not the locals however. Now all has moved out and another multi million dollar facility has yet been laid to rest. Recently, Glovis Hundai is using the facility as a parking lot. There must an estimate of 1400 to 2000 vehicles parked there waiting for upgrades or something like that. Yet only 50 local jobs have come from this since, and no promise to further any other promises. Yet another Caddo Parish “F” up. Just let it all go, shut up, take your loses and suck it up and go on with life. Maybe they will convert the old abandoned plant into a prison or something like a church, a new shopping mall. anything but another bait and switch. Louisiana does not contest that there a lot of dumb people (the best there is) but what about the rest of you. Louisiana is not yet ignorant.

Three years ago I wrote that Elio motors is a pie in the sky, a fantasy which ore and more has been looking like a scam. Now I am 100% sure that 1) all you deposit, all you cash is gone and gone for forever. 2) Elio motors is a toast. Only blind, deaf and dumb can not understand it while looking at their reality, their numbers in their bank account.

I have been going on about how there is no way they can have the tooling alone done in time to hit their projected date. I follow them on FB, and it seems to be turning into almost a religion than a car company. I don’t need to believe in a product for it to appear. I just need them to make it.

Lol, yeah they do have a cult-like following. There are three active discussion forums for the Elio and the car, or whatever you want to call it, hasn’t even started to sell. I guess that’s great marketing with not a lot of resources.

Same here I get hammered buy the depositor’s at the mention of this company making no sense what so ever. They actually know each other now and give each other high fives and congratulate on good cut downs and such.
I eluded to them drinking the cool aid recently and man did they come out on the attack.
Logic dictates these people most likely have lost their money.

Remember the early years of the Volkswagen (peoples-car – for the masses). Bought a brand new 1967 bug for $1,685.95 (it was the first year for 53hp and 12v system). Elio kinda reminds me of the “early years of the Volkswagen”.
I think (hope) they’ll make it.

Yep – I bought a new ’67 Beetle with a manual sunroof and opening (push-out) rear windows for $1800. Updated it, over the next couple of years, with an EMPI extractor exhaust, Koni shocks, 1/2″ offset wheels and Michelin radials. It handled like a Porsche! Not expecting that from an Elio, though.

Being a car guy and in the business for over 46 years, I too was interested…. Till I started to investigate. Last week I sent an e-mail to Elio, stating that to this date they have NO FINAL PRE-PRODUCTION VEHICLE!.. Just a mule with a resurrected Chevrolet import 3 cylinder engine and no exhaust. In all their ads and promotions the “talk” about all the accessories they’ll have available, yet, no one has seen ANY of them even on their “mule”. Furthermore, The vehicle has not been emissions or safety tested, just talk. They haven’t finalized the actual engine or transmissions!. To that end, they sent me a “form letter” reply answering NONE of my questions! There is NO WAY that they will bring the vehicle to market, let alone the 3rd quarter of 2015, $6800 base price, or 86 MPG. … Sadly to say, another DALE, or APTERA. So many people will loose their hard earned money!

Those cars you mentioned made it into production, at least, but failed, overall, due to poor business decisions. Elio has not made it into production, and the date has now been pushed back to sometime in 2016.

I agree its a beautiful car on the floor, saw it at barret jackson but this company is run like a time share scam in phase one of development. You see those hills they will be a golf course, and over there a water park for the kids.

There is a sucker leaving a deposit every minute it seems. But i think i would wait a bit because there isnt anything holding this dream together except a brochure if something happens to the founder, assuming he is legit and i wont even make that assumption at this stage.

I have been following the Elio very closely, I get their daily e-mail updates / advertisements, I am trying to get Mr. Elio on as a guest on the George Norry Coast to Coast Radio program that is heard on over 550 radio stations.
I was so suspicious when I first saw their ads two months agothat I sent a link to their website to the U.S. Justice Department and asked them to investigate them, I of course never heard back from the Justice Department.
The Elio people answer all my emails to them asking questions and giving them ideas for improvement.
I hope it actually does go into production, Some one here mentioned the Tesla $100,000 electric car, But remember Obama gave Tesla $100,000,000 in stimulus money ! I wish he would give it to an American car company who builds cars that Americans can Actually afford Not #100,000 toys like Tesla.
We will see what happens ?
T Lee Buyea — Fla. News Service
Miami, Fl. USA
.

Often times it is hard to get a hold of a company or get a quote when you are a journalist. Least some of these companies could do is respond with “No comment” or we “can’t comment on that.”

Unsure why the Justice Department would look into a car or vehicle company like Elio Thomas. I’m not a lawyer but I don’t think they are breaking any laws overpromising production numbers. The land deal for the plant is somewhat iffy.

Regarding Tesla, they build all of them in a facility in California currently that used to be joint venture between GM and Toyota. So technically they are US made electric cars. Also the money Tesla got was a loan from the Energy Department and was not a bailout, like General Motors and Chrysler received.

There are many cars that sell in the price range that the Tesla Roadster and Tesla Model S sell for out on the market. People have criticized Tesla for building an expensive car, but it makes sense. The buyers they are aiming for want to spend that money and are used to buying cars in the $100,000 range.

You mentioned companies being hard to communicate with, If you meant Elio you can just email them at tellmemore@eliomotors.com

As far as my sending their website link to the Justice Department, There was a half man half woman about 30 years ago who clamed she he was going to build similar cars and had one prototype and collected deposits and was a con person ! So I thought they may be also?

I still do not believe that minimum wage tax payer’s taxes should fund car companies like Tesla at that time only making $100,000 hot rods, After all how many government loans ever get paid back ?? if the business fails?

I do not work for George Norry, But I am a radio station engineer but due to the FCC cutting back on the requirement to have an engineer on duty any time a radio or TV station is on the air there is not much work in those areas now, Especially with all the automation.

I also went to two years of auto mechanics school in high school and one year of night school making me a ford factory trained mechanic then on to electronics school that licensed me to work on aircraft radios, navigation and auto pilots But all of that and $5.00 will get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks nowadays !

Tesla paid back their loan pretty early and people who make minimum wage generally don’t pay taxes but I get your point about public funding. Elio applied for about $200 million in government loans and I hope the government has the sense to deny them.

How a company needs almost $300 million in cash to begin building a car that isn’t much more complex than a custom motorcycle is beyond me. How they expect to start $250 million+ in debt and be profitable selling cars for $6,800 is also beyond me especially given that many people who pre-ordered have a credit of 50% of their money down off the car.

Most motorcycles cost more than that and they aren’t equipped with many bells and whistles planned for the Elio.

The MPG figure is also extremely optimistic and to be frank, unrealistic. There is almost no way the car will happen the way they say it will.

The local perish that purchased the Shreveport plant for $7.5 million and leased it to Elio so Elio didn’t have to buy it is already starting to flip out about it.

In 2013 they were saying they would begin production in mid 2014, then it was pushed to 2015, then 2016. Right now they still have a very long way to go so you can expect 2017, then 2018. How many more peoples money are they going to take along the way?

The taxpayers will likely end up with a 200 million dollar tab out of this. Hindsight is 20/20 but it hasn’t happened yet and we already know its a very bad idea. Who is going to be held responsible when that happens? Certainly not Elio, he’ll go directly to bankruptcy court, wash his hands of the mess, and likely still walk away a very wealthy man with a laundry list of people who owe him favors for stuffing their pockets along the way.

According to Paul Elio when they had roughly 41,000 reservations they had raised $17 million from people putting down deposits. I’d imagine this would be enough to get initial production started for the Elio. They’ve been trying to get accredited investors to put money through a JOBS act provision that allows crowdfund investing but I don’t know if that’s been successful.

It’s still unclear if the Department of Energy will grant them a loan. Even if they do they still need additional capitol, roughly $20 million I believe. It seems clear that venture capitol firms are not interested, as they like tech investments with fast returns, but who knows. It’s incredible to me the media and all the deposits people have put down so far.

How do you know the parish is flipping out about Elio? Do you live in the area?

Elio had a good lawyer to set this up. Most money taken in is not required to be paid back if things do not work out.The 86 mile to the gallon, the 100 MPH. and the $6800 price is all expected, not guaranteed . They are absolutely guaranteeing nothing.. If things do not workout too bad.How do you expect 86 mile to the gallon when you do not even have the engine? They just came up with the engine last year. How did they know it was going to reach 100 MPH? How did they know how many MPH in so many seconds? It’s a Mystery.

I too would buy an elio but,,,,in the meantime I will continue to ride my 70 mpg Honda Helix scooter that rides well at 65 mph and has a am/fm ,a trunk, backrest, auto transmission, and the girls all want a ride…

I read all the comments and no one here has thought about the quality of the car if they ever get built, the tata in india has at least a story of one customer driving it out of the car dealer and catching fire the same day.
I almost put a deposit, but then I thought to wait until the first model is out in the streets and I could see performance and reliability.
there has been many american cars that have been unreliable and unsafe.

Here I am, I am back with another scenario for the one or two Elio prototypes that do exist ?
For Mr. Elio to design and build the prototypes from the bottom up from scratch would have been very hard work, a lot of engineering and a lot of expense !
But what if !
What if the Elio team or just Mr. Elio started out with a very good condition used Honda Civic for example and unbolted or cut the body off of it, Then he would have a radiator, Battery, Engine and Transmission (They admit the engine and transmission is from another production car already) Then used the existing floor of the Honda as a frame with some steel beams underneath stiffening and strengthening the floor / frame.
Then removed the rear tires, wheels, breaks, axel, suspension and narrowed the rear of the new frame and added a simple one wheel in the middle with a simple suspension system and hydraulic break.
Then he would have an open car like a large go-cart, With a radiator, Battery, Engine, Transmission and the front wheels of the Honda now with no body or fenders covering them would appear to be wide set like on the Elio, And using the original front Tires, Wheels, Breaks, Suspension, Steering gear and front wheel drive shafts connected to the Honda Engine and Transmission, That leaves all Mr. Elio would need to do to build / have a prototype would be to build a metal or fiberglass body with an upholstered inside and seats to fit over this open Honda car, And there is the supposedly designed, Engineered and supposable hand crafted from Scratch Elio prototype ! ?

Aaron Turpen was his facts wrong! The list price is $6800 and upgrades extra. I built race cars and now days with 3D printers and computers laser cutters you can build a prototype motor block up and 99% all parts fit and go right to testing in days! Its good they canned that 3 CYL 1980’s GM motor. 2015 motor needs to start with 2015 materials and the high tech CAD programs. There are 1 liter race motors that put out 245HP. you can have power and MPG with a CAD engine. But i will say Elio better watch out that say Can Am (3 wheeled motorcycle) could build a body and use there basic frame. but the price Can Am spyder last i seen was $23,000.
I wish Elio the best. Hay i will buy one! $6800-$71000 New anything with wheels COOL!

Bad press is still press. Many of the claims you make in your blog are simply
one mans ( probably one short mans) opinion those of us the live in the 1% got here because we know the TRUE definition of success: bouncing from failure to failure with enthusiasm . We take calculated risks , we save our money , some of us are educated , some are not. There is NOT one of my peers or colleagues that BASH an American Company that is trying. Do you know they killed Mr, Tesla, he was about to figure out wifi electricity , but because of people with your attitude we mostly all pay for electricity,
Get on the winning side, put up your money or shut your mediocre mouth,
I am all in. I am gonna be there at that factory to take delivery of my AMERICAN made car,.My Elio. Your crap worked , I had to point out how just UN American you all really are. God Bless America …. It’s on your piddle money. In God We Trust.

I know the USA can build a small high MPG car that all people can afford ($7.25 hr workers Walmart ect) Elio could be that company! They are NOT making a $100,000 electric sports car(Tesla motors) or like in the pass a stainless steel careless about MPG or investors money sports car(Delorean). This is a USA start up car company and its the right time TECH and economy problems for the low wage workers. 2015 computers and materials can keep the cost way down. Hey China can! India can??they make cheap cars based on a 1960’s tech! Junk YES. Elio can sell to the world market! That is why they will have the sells volume to make money. US car maker but the world market is out there! Asian countries LOVE us made cars! Elio can be the next HOT thing in cars. I looked over the Elio company and NO one has factored in foreign sales. 100 times the sales in the US!The numbers do WORK! ELIO IS NOT A SCAM! Your not looking all the facts!
God Bless America! and Elio Motors! Gods Speed!

You fail to mention most of their profit will be made from the options like navigation, backup camera, sunroof, automatic transmission, cruise control, leather seating, etc.. Along with the delivery/destination fee most people will be paying close to or even above $10,000 for this vehicle.

Mark you are right! many people will get the options and pay the $10,000. I got a Email back from Elio and they said a big market is the lower wage earners and middle class families that can’t buy two cars at $20,000 to $30,000 each. in 2007 i got a used 2001 VW Beetle TDi 112.000 miles and was $8,000. 6 years old AS-IS. I would have took that cash and got a NEW Elio if they had a model around then! 99% of the time a under $10,000 used car has near 100,000 miles and is time for a timing belt($500-$1300) brakes,battery(lucky last 4-6 years), or the car will Dollar you till it quits or you sell it. A Elio is #1 new 3 year/36,000 warranty. And that’s a normal car warranty look at Honda Accord 2015.Or the Madza,GM, Subaru..and more so don’t knock the warranty.
and the Base model whole lot of standard stuff like AC, heat, power windows and lock, AM/FM, safety management system.Remember anything to add has weight and that kills MPG! You want 84 MPG stick with the base model.and i just found out NO timing belt! a inside chain! so no 50k or 70k belt replacement for $500 up.i have seen chains go way over 100k. So Even at $10,000 its a deal.

I made a $1,000 “All in Reservation” which Elio states is “non-refundable”.
We do believe they would get more “all in reservations” if they promised to refund reservation deposits if they never go to production.
Also, working 34 years for the California Department of Transportation, I know first hand about the “behind the scenes” work of oil companies. I doubt they will sit and let an auto getting 80 miles per galloon go to production. They will try everything to prevent the Elio.

The majority of the time these types of vehicle start-ups, or any company trying to get off the ground, make it clear that deposits are non-refundable. Likely most of the money they’ve raised from deposits has already been spent in some capacity. It would be nice but make little sense for them to make deposit refundable it the Elio doesn’t get built. Financially Elio needs money NOW to go to production which is why they ask for a deposit from interested buyers.

Why did you put in a $1,000 reservation if you feel like oil companies will not let the Elio go into production? You don’t think that seems counter-intuitive and odd?

Hi Ray ….its January 25th 2015 ….Gas getting down to $1.97 for premium unleaded (Arizona), is proof enough for me about your statement …..if OPEC could kill this company …this is how they would almost certainly do it …I do not believe OPEC has cut prices and maintained production levels to Damage RUSSIA’S Economy for invading UKRAINE.as claimed and neither do I beive it was to punish IRAN for their ongoing Nuclear power Program etc etc etc… it all smells like big corporate and state sponsored economic warfare to to maintain WORLD CONTROL of every economy on the planet…..This little car , the Elio if it goes into production , would completely ruin the strangle hold OPEC has on the world. …..I really hope and pray that the Elio Car Company will make it into production

“How OPEC killed the Electric car” read it some day …not just the cliff notes……and ..”The grand chessboard ” …also a good read on how world energy (OPEC) producers planned world control since the early 70’s ..wrtten by Z. brezinski ….FOr Elio to produce this 80+ mpg car will threaten future profits projections …by the biggest most powerful people on earth ….these are people who are willing to topple nations to maintain current politcal and economical power over the entire planet ..obviously you wont agree with me even if you do read these books ….however , lets just agree to disagree buddy…..but its safe to say this …if Elio does go into production the planet will enjoy the slightest reprieve in the amount of green house gas’s being pumped daily into the atmosphere by gas guzzling SUV’s and 300/400/500 and 600 hp sports cars …..have a great day Adam be safe and take care always my friend

I’m fairly sure OPEC dislikes electric cars like the Nissan Leaf a lot more than a three-wheeled car like the Elio. Although the Elio could make a good electric car in my opinion but I guess that doesn’t make good business sense for Paul Elio and the company at the moment.

Ray…The $1000 you gave Elio is more of an “investment” than a down payment “reservation”. Only way big Oil would care about Elio motors is if there NEW engine can get 84 MPG and they think about a license deal to other car makers..(Hey more money for Elio?) But think about the power company? why do they push LED’s bulbs and high seer A/C units energy star stuff? Because it cost big money for a NEW power plant! Big oil may want the demand to go down a little then stay the same so they don’t need NEW refineries! Elio may play right into there plan. It’s people like you Ray that give Elio a chance to make it! I just lost big time on a lighting ballast start up company had patent’s and all. But the Ceo and others spent money like water! Golf getaways,$8000 desk, taxi not rent a cars, fly 500 miles not drive,went to every trade show stayed first class! $350+ a night just room. $500 meals. I don’t think Elio is using Reservation money to be a high roller. even $10,000 saved can really help when you need to order production run parts.
Ray your a good American! I think more and more Elio has a good plan and will go into production sometime in 2015 maybe late 2015..Dot and GOV testing.. EPA motor test? May slow things down.

I have to admit that I am also an “ALL IN” person. I put my $1,000 done a 1 1/2 years ago. My number is in the 800’s.

I did it because you have to “put your money where your mouth is”. I am an engineer and read about the car a year or 2 earlier. I guess I also can afford to lose it and wanted to provide some encouragement to someone in the US trying to get a startup going as well as an economical ride.

I have built many prototypes and also could not see how they could build this for such a low cost.

You can call me whatever you want but I volunteered to defend this country and will always stick up for someone doing something over the all too popular “talker” or “downer”.

John being a engineer you can see this is a good prototype. I was a CEO of a muti million company. We had deals going that the public was in the dark about. People said about us they can’t be making any money. Elio has deals working in the background to bring in money for production and after. Management is smart at Elio! remember US may not be the only market?(i hear rumors) A start up like Elio can’t show all there cards. 2015 will put Elio to the test but they can only move so fast. They rush out some piece of junk because the “All in people” push management to production. What is one more year more to have a tested prototype and near zero recalls?? GM and ford lost big money pushing out cars and trucks before the bugs was worked out and had so many factory recall’s. Dealers made money.

The comparisons to Tesla are not reasonable. The Elio is a complete different vehicle that sells for less than 20% of what the Tesla costs. I would own a Tesla for say 10-15k but not with the 50k price tag. I do believe Elio’s market strategy is what sells the large volume projected. None of the manufactures mentioned at the beginning of this article are affordable by new, low income drivers whom are neither comfortable, confident or care to drive a scooter or cycle for the same investment. Yes, I’m all in for the 1k and if it happens Great, if it doesn’t, worst things have happened to me. Consider also how many people like your self’s have said that if it goes into production you would get one?. Just about 100%, so for taking a chance at 1K you might save yourself the agony of wishing you had one when you see it going by in your neck of the woods.

Of course Adam, I’m retired and If I was struggling to make ends meet I would not have taken a chance and even then since committing my money I purchased a Cherokee Trailhawk and own three motorcycles from 1500cc to 650cc so I really don’t need transportation I just though it was a great idea and hope for the best by staying positive, if it happens great if not, there goes my grandsons graduation present and I’ll be saving the other 6 or 7,000 .

Plus the local paper says its still on…I will say this Paul Elio better show up.. or A lot of unhappy Investors/ All in people will be mad…looks like the Taxpayers now want answers! Maybe a Make or Break meeting!

Will, Here we go again!!! According to this, (Elio Motors delays production at Shreveport GM plant again – KTBS.com – Shreveport, LA News, Weather and Sports) Looks like they have delayed production once more to the beginning of 2016 now for lack of funds, who knows if we”ll ever see this thing but we can always hope.

I love how they (ELIO) runs their facebook page. They constantly cut and paste the same comments to everyone that asks when. /sigh…. Today I got my “letter” from Paul Elio stating that production was moved back again. Always the same old excuses, money bla bla bla. My thought is if you can’t afford to produce a car, don’t offer reservations. What they should have done is offered shares of the company instead. I would have bought into that and then the money would have all went towards building a company, not just holding on to it for a car for me. And I could have made a profit in the end, if they ever actually made/sold any. It seems right now the only people that have these cars are Paul and his select few buddies. With 30000 plus reservations in various amounts, seems he got the deal of a lifetime. His car paid for and then some.

The reservations obviously have proven to be vital funds for getting Elio off the ground to this point. It’s not unlike how a lot of crowdfunding campaigns work. A lot of companies offer paid reservations.

Offering shares might be a good idea. There are new laws that allow individual investors access and protections to invest in start-ups. The reservations show that people actually want the car built though.

Like I’ve said before vehicle manufacturing is expensive and difficult. That’s why a lot of car start-ups fail or never make it. Even Elon Musk said he didn’t think Tesla would make it, only giving it a 10% chance.

One thing Elio really needs, is a partner, hopefully an investment firm, willing to front a large sum up front and also to wait for about 10 years before repayment begins. The delay in repayment is the key for them , to give them low-risk capital to ramp up production.

I agree Terry. I doubt there are many investment companies or private equity firms that will look at Elio’s business plan and think it makes sense though. Although $200 million to them is worth a shot. It’s chump change to some of these companies.

What killed the electric car? Was long before Opec. What Henry Ford and this “gas” Motor in the model T did. Fact is we had more electric cars in 1912 than gas powered.33,842 electric cars. in 1900 a electric car held the land speed record! so what happened? More good roads and cheap “gas” cars in the 1920’s. Electric cars did not have the range or speed(20 mph) to travel from city to city and the new Gas cars did! Had speed and range.Now even today its the charge time and range that hold back electric cars. (plus the batteries). But in 2014 500,000 (plug-in) vehicles are in the world.45% was in the USA. 40% 100,000 vehicles was sold in California. Where i live it cost 7 cents a mile to drive a electric car. and less if i go to a free charging station. we have a city one now when you park…Elio will never be on Opec’s radar. Like Nascar we went to E-15.Made everyone happy. It’s a GREEN fuel 15% ethanol. Funny it’s color is green! Now F-1 uses street gas now very high test..Sunoco E-15 is 98 Octane by the way. In the past F-1 could blend there own gas and would eat the engine up! Fuel would burn your skin! It had benzene and ethanol,aviation gas plus we used xylene and palm oil. Elio is on the radar of the people that need a sub $10,000 new car. Not a $10,000 used 150k+ car that last 2 years and you still owe on it! If it got only 40 Mpg highway and 25 city still there is a cheap new car market! New car under $8000! Buy the way GAS prices will go up someday.Then you wish you had a Elio 84 MPG.

I wish you and Jo Borras would quit comparing this 3 wheeled enclosed MOTORCYCLE with…
1. Crappy Built EXPENSIVE cars and truck like Land Rover and Jaguar and Mini.
2. EXPENSIVE electric cars like the Leaf and Tesla.
3. Quit wishing for more electrics and look at what this would really be good for, the commuter that drives FIFTY miles one way to work because we want to live in the country where we have acres of pease and quiet. If Honda brought something like this to market, you would be giving it rave reviews and comparing it to can-am spyders and maxi-scooters. Electrics are not cost effective long distance commuter cars. People are freaking LAZY to plug in their cars in the wintertime, what makes you think they are going to plug in their cars at night?

First off Matt let me just say that Jo Borras, who writes for Important Media’s Gas2.org, does fair and accurate reporting. Regarding the Elio and Elio Motors he’s written quite a lot about them and all of the news articles, to my understanding, are true.

If you don’t like what Jo Borras or I write, feel free to find other outlets that are more inline with your thinking Matt.

Now let me address the rest of what you said in your comment;

1. Those crappy British automakers turn a decent profit currently. Even if they are unreliable… they know how to build, sell, and service cars.

2. Can you explain how the Nissan Leaf is expensive? It was built as an affordable electric car. When coupled with the $7,500 federal tax credit and some state tax credits for electric vehicles it’s quite reasonable to purchase. The Tesla honestly is for a completely different range of buyers who are used to spending $80,000-$100,000 on cars. People can’t fault Telsa for going after this market. It’s a good strategy.

3. Ok… so you want to live out in the country with peace and quiet. Do you realize that electric cars are actually quieter than gasoline powered vehicles? Nissan has sold 100,000 Nissan Leafs so it seems there are people that don’t mind charging. Tesla has sold about 60,000 Model S electric cars. Honda hasn’t brought out anything like this and I’ve never written about a Maxi Scooter or a Can-Am Spyder. I’ve also never ridden these. Although if someone wants to buy a Maxi Scooter and Can Am Spyder for me, I’m not stopping them. 🙂

It’s unlikely we will see a gas-powered Elio. So I don’t think you need to worry about electric Elios.

I know electric cars are very quiet, I was talking about ALL the noisey trashy things in the city, and though I no longer commute, when I did the Leaf would not have made it round trip on a charge without some sort of “topping off”. I don’t count tax breaks when I shop for a car, because all those breaks are funded with tax payer dollars, if a taxpayer gets a break somewhere else taxes went up. Even after the tax breaks I still think 20k for a disposable car is crazy.

7 years ago, I spent 2 years to find a car that fit my needs. And I would think those who commute 50+ miles to work would have same or very similar needs.
1. Good or Excellent mileage (at the time 35+ was my requirement) now I would say 40+ as the cars are getting better MPG now.
2. Low maintenance design (no cambelt and simple routine maint.)
3. Low cost, I was shooting for under 15k (5 years ago)
4. Some comfort, (its a small car not a Lincoln) I am a large framed guy with wide shoulders, and the center pillar in 4 door cars catch me right in the shoulders, so a 2 door coupe or hatch is the best compromise.

I ended up with a 2010 3dr hatch Yaris.
And I met all my goals. I still have it though my weekly miles have been reduced by 75%, I own it outright now, and it paid for its self between the better mileage and fewer repair bills on my previous vehicle.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not opposed to electric cars, they need better technology to make them cheaper and have longer range, per charge. I personally have thought about a Zero Motorcycle, but there is the cost issue when compared with gas counterparts.

I think there will be a transition to very small gas and diesels for a time to give the electric car technology to grow, and get less expensive. Look at Europe 60-70 US mpg out of the smallest (smaller than my Yaris) cars is normal. Especially when our gas prices go back to $4 a gallon.

I have doubts about 80+ mpg with the Elio, but even at a more attainable 60mpg, and even if they are twice the projected MSRP@14k you would be hard pressed to find an enclosed vehicle to compare apples to apples.

The Elio is a modern and way more refined version of the HMV Freeway, I am looking forward to see what the other manufacturers bring to market if the Elio comes to market. (VW has a working prototype the 1L) I know I said IF, I have a feeling there will be so many hurdles to overcome that the odds are not really good.

Well I had the chance to see the Elio in person, and I know that I can fit in it, it is even comfortable. I have always been into “Reverse Trikes”, my Go-Kart which was originally my Father’s, built in about 1960 was of the reverse trike design. Simple, Stable, and efficient, my Go-Kart was Rear engine, RWD, with the single rear wheel it eliminated the need for a heavy rear differential, or a straight solid axle that causes wide turns. The Elio is Front engine, FWD, but that makes more sense from a packaging and using currently available technology. But, I am mainly interested because it is a refined vehicle concept (not a new one: HMV Freeway) that makes sense without a high technology powertrain.

I realize you were talking about living out in the country but that argument still doesn’t make sense. If what you want is country peace and quiet than you should be happy with more electric cars and electric vehicles Matt.

Currently the Nissan Leaf likely isn’t ideal for someone that has a lot of commuting or driving. For urban and suburban driving environments the Nissan Leaf is ideal. I know someone who has 30-40 minute commute, one direction, that currently drives a Leaf.

Even if you don’t support electric vehicle tax credits I think you’d be stupid not to take advantage of them if you bought an electric car. Considering how much money the government wastes you may as well grab whatever money they’ll give out that doesn’t go into a political slush fund. 🙂

Regarding electric motorcycles, I think there is a lot of possibility for growth in that market. Motorcycles sales have actually declined in the North American market a lot in the past 10 years. The industry needs to attract a lot of newer and younger buyers, and they haven’t been. Keep in mind most people buy motorcycles as weekend toys and not everyday commuters, so I don’t think range and charging time are as much of an issue.

I too have considered a Zero S and I believe the price isn’t an issue. If the range was slightly better it would be a more ideal purchase for a wider range of buyers.

Electric scooters is another market that will has growth potential too I believe. Like electric motorcycles range isn’t an issue as most people don’t do long distance trips on scooters.

IF the Elio gets built and Elio Motors actually gets off the ground, the 84 MPG claim is possible I think. It’s an extremely lightweight and aerodynamic car. I wouldn’t be surprised if it could get 100+ mpg in some driving circumstances.

In practical terms, the cost to buy that shuddered GM plant was $10 million dollars. Considering that Elio didn’t even have the funds to buy that and did a hokey land deal, I find that kind of concerning.

If the price of the Elio doubled to $14,000 I think a lot less people would be interested but I’m sure they would still find buyers. Maybe Paul Elio could at least sell an Elio Kit Car for $7,000. Of course who has time for a kit car? 🙂

I think Elio is underpriced to start. Still, I think they have a far better chance at reaching even 100,000 units sold than Tesla or any electric only car in the first year based on current technology.

I figure the first group of cars they will not make anything. After that the price will go up, probably by $2-$3k initially. That is when they will start to re-coup.

I plan on putting in my reservation, though I have still have some concerns, but I think $100 (the minimum) is a risk worth taking. They have gone farther than any small car startup that I’ve seen in the last 10 years.

Yes John, the Takata airbags are the ones being recalled that could explode with metal shards. To my understanding it is more of an issue in humid climates but I can’t recall why.

I think Elio needs to actually build some models before they worry about installing Takata airbags or other defective airbags into the autocycle. Currently they are well short of the funding needed to start production of the Elio three wheeler but many are hoping they can raise the money.

Yep that is the problem airbag maker! I have been told that the Elio rides rough!(like $3 shocks and moped springs). we made a stock BMW 5 series into a off road racer. Tuff car! till we hit a wash board and pot hole filled dirt road. 5 miles in side airbag went off. 10 miles in number 2. then we did some road side wiring job before the driver was killed! Elio my need a custom sensor if you ever want to go off pavement with the way it rides. and our driver said it hurts when the airbag hit you. looked like he had a sun burn on one side of this face plus some powder stuff comes out gets into your eyes and ears ring! BMW that’s a big car. He said inside a smaller space like Elio i would have crashed from not being able to see!

I have been reading all of this crap since 2013. Elio blocked me because of my comments. I live close to the plant in Shreveport they have one little cheap sign out front. This is never going into production. I know several people on the Caddo Comm. Elio has LOST The plant.

The plant is owned by Caddo Parish. The lease agreement gave time deadlines for setting up the production lines and commencing production. If those weren’t met then Caddo reserved the right to find another tenant. Last year Elio nearly lost out to Panasonic who was interested in the site for manufacturing air conditioners but backed out due to Elio’s lease. Now Elio has pushed production back again and Caddo has several interested companies looking over the facilities. Caddo offered Elio a smaller site that would be more suitable for his needs (old Southwestern Bell facility) so they could get a real manufacturer in the plant. Toyota needs to expand production of their small truck line so the Shreveport site would be ideal for them.

I knew about the leasing arrangement with the Caddo Parish and Elio Motors. Didn’t realize that other automakers and manufacturers were looking at the site but I guess that makes sense. That’s nice the Caddo Parish offered another smaller site because I’m sure they are frustrated with how things with Elio have progressed. Thanks for commenting Bill.

Funny! The first kit car i put together was a Bradley GT on a 1968 beetle frame…Was so cool till to fired it up! or looked at the back and seen the engine. I liked the gull wing doors..company was in Minnesota.Now most cars are unibody. Made a lot of trikes with VW parts..Now days all people want is turn a key and go. No time for a project! or the brains like the old timers…people can’t change there own oil today! much less build a car kit…

With the internet and Youtube I think there has been a resurgence in people wanting to fix and repair. Building a whole car, even from a kit, is a very different thing though. I don’t blame people for wanting a “turn and go” vehicle.

I’d like to build a kit car one day but honestly Thomas… I really have no time, space, or tools do it. It is a lot of work and from what I hear from mechanics who have more extensive and vast knowledge of cars and vehicles than me, it’s not worth it.

Adam there are some good young mechanics out there. I was a teacher at NASCAR and seen students than could go on to F1 someday and others that had a job waiting at jiffy lube.(maybe). some were very good at book work but could not use a wrench. Some were “parts changers” had no clue how to trouble shoot or repair the part that was bad say like a starter that was dead. they put a new one in and still will not start. Had no clue to check the neutral safety switch first or even a fuse link. But that was what school was for. My students were more advanced. I was teaching racing engine assembly. I am a ASE master machinist Gas and Diesel engines.ASE heavy duty truck Master mechanic, ASE ALT fuels, ASE Car and truck parts specialist.ASE GM parts specialist. I had some students that at the start of auto school was thinking laptop and software that’s what auto repair is today.(computers,sensors,EFI) They found out that was just added stress of Auto repair today. Cars are still 90+ mechanical! nuts,bolts,welds,wearing parts form engines to brakes to belts and hoses.Laptop can’t fix that you need hands on parts.And how to replace the parts right and more over safely! I seen someone loose a finger tip on a brake shoe job.(not using right tools).

Adam you are so right about NASCAR and moving into the computer age.Friend said ” son its sprint cup NOT Microsoft or Intel cup!! we are still trying to figure up how to use a sprint smart phone!”)Now F1 that is way past anything the US car makers have or could think of how to use in a production car today! They would show me data that i did not know you could make a sensor for…I enjoyed working on F1 engines. But was stuck to one manufacturer. Big time secrets! When i did offshore race boats engines had little secrets but the propellers was the top secret part! There were locked up till mins before race time. Then put on and covered up till the boat hit the water. I seen them take off our propellers in the water one time after we won. Company that made ours made US sub propellers.

If it goes into production I’ll buy one. A lot of people have their fingers crossed for this venture. You can probably get a unit demand by multiplying the number of orders by about 600-700%. Not many people will toss money at a promise. When I was a kid my dad, a solid middle class income earner, could buy a new economy car for !0% of his annual income. Today a decent economy car costs 30% of a solid middle class income. It’s crazy money. I ride a motor cycle when the weather is nice, in part, to extend the life of my car. If I could have an Elio, get my wife a proper sized car, and enjoy my bike, we’d be set and my garage would be a lot roomier. I was beyond disappointed when Aptera hired a GM insider and sent Fambro packing. It was clear that they had lost touch with the vision that had made them viable in the first place. The Elio has a better chance with their approach. Still, no one gets my money until they have a product to sell. Start smaller. I’ll buy one and show it off to my neighbors–show them my monthly gas costs. Don’t worry about getting rich overnight. Remember the beetle? My dad was one of the first to buy one before anyone understood why they were such a logical car to own for people who needed to stretch their dollars. That’s my advice to Ellio.

I am an all in non refundable Elio guy since 2014. I’ve been waiting since then for a car. I recently got two emails from Paul Elio. These concerned me because one stated production has slipped to 2016, and the other asked for $15,000 to be an investor. This tells me their Dept of Energy loan application is slower than expected or there is a problem. I have asked them about this, but they have not responded to me. My old car has about another year left in in. I hope I am driving an Elio in 2016, but I am beginning to thing it is a marketing dream.

As it stands now Elio Motors just does not have the money to get the Elio into production. That’s why they are looking for private investors. Hope your Pontiac Bonneville has a lot more life if you will be waiting for your Elio.

Think about it. How can anybody build an enclosed vehicle, with airbags, power windows etc. for that price? Also I have a 650cc motorcycle that weighs 325 pounds and gets 60 miles to the gallon. How can they get better mileage with a bigger and heavier vehicle.

My friend worked for a mid sized company in Florida as their chief accountant. One day the owner called a company wide meeting. He spoke about how the company was “poised” for great future growth and that he would like to let his “valuable” employees become part of this growth by personally investing $10,000 with him.

My friend, as i said, was the chief accountant. He knew the real situation at the company, which was not good at all. They were in a highly competitive business and the competition was getting overwhelming. He advised his close friends at the company to invest in themselves – by looking for a new job. He did likewise.

Sounds like Paul Elio is reaching the bottom….. Someday we will all see the true story on American Greed.

It appears that Mr. Elio of Elio fame is continuing to move ahead with his engine designed, built and undergoing testing (;^))
And never ending personal appearances with his car at shopping centers near You ! ? Of course if he takes in ten to 50 new $1,000 all in hopeful customers at each showing that is not a bad day’s work !

Comparison to Jaguar and Land Rover is hardly fair! People buying such luxury cars are paying a luxury price, and there are fewer that can afford it anyway. Perhaps more pertinent automotive history would be the Model T, the Volkswagen Beetle, and the BMW 1600-2002 series. Yes, BMW, in 1968 you could buy the Beetle for $1600 or cough up the extra two bills and buy the BMW 1600 for $1800! How do you think they grew so fast in the ‘States?

Yes a comparison to $50,000+ cars is a joke. And I had as many as 20 VW beetles and a BMW 2002 from Germany! Had the shortwave radio plus paper work..The .VW Beetle is hard to kill. My new one beetle TDI is the best yet. I get 45+ mpg. Just change the timing belt before 70,000 on the older ones and before 100,000 newer TDi. I found out the hard way! 45 mpg is super but Elio at near 70+ I can see people buying for going to work or maybe a auto parts store? I had a ford F150 300 six never got more than 12 mpg more like 10 and was no big deal at .99 a gal. But now at $2.30+ or back to $4.00+ I can see a Elio for small parts delivery. I know many people that drive 60+ miles a day. most drive used cars with 200,000+ miles most get at best 30 mpg.friends with trucks 15 mpg-20. and most spent as much as a Elio on these used 100,000 mile + cars and trucks and from day one start putting money into them.Battery, tires soon, brakes, timing belts, ect. I can think of about 6 friends that junked there cars before or just after paying it off. Now just getting the money! I really want Elio to make it.

My body is 70 but my mind is 39. I have ridden motorcycles since I was 14 and finally had to give it up because it was getting to damn heavy to hold up. It was my body that did the job of holding not my mind. Put a deposit on an Elio and sure hope they come through. Also gave up my pilots license so I need a toy and that’s an Elio. I figure that between taxes, prep charges and delivery it will come to nine or ten grand. Right now my biggest problem is the anticipation and deciding on the color. If it is registered as a motorcycle will I have to dust off the helmet and get out the leathers. Using the HOV lane is a plus but is there enough room to carry the velvet ropes and posts to put around the vehicle when I park it to keep all the lookie loos off of it. I was hoping that it would fit in my golf cart garage but I think the OD of the front wheels may not make it. I have not seen anywhere the outside dimensions. I may have to do some reconstruction of the door to get it in there. I hope that the 2016 production comes to Pass as if it goes on to long I may be to old to drive it. I was showing someone a picture of the car and they asked what kind it was. My reply was “It’s a chick magnet” I think that me in there with my Shih Tzu Max will be a real lady killer.

I have seen too many of these great ideas fall apart due to pie in the sky visions, and lack of funding. Cars..Tucker being one, Bede aircraft being another. Although Bede’s plane was made by someone else, it was a terrible flying plane. I flew one, and never wanted to get in one again. Hope they succeed, but have SERIOUS doubts.

start at $14,000……BUT the cost to run is off. One gas is not $4.00 gal(not yet) and KWh shows $0.11 KWh that is the right Avg…They show 200 MPGe. range 60 miles? Funny!! I know Dana. Smartest guy I know with electric any thing! Can tell you this! if it can be done Dana Myers can do it. He has been talking about new batteries soon that will boost Mileage range big time. better than the new tesla solar battery.( I am getting one) Dana says what kills battery packs now is the high charge rates. he uses 120v slower longer charge times. but the packs can be fast charged. 240v or 480v chargers. Where I am at 60 mile range would not help me. But my place in Miami YES… but is it safe if old people hit you? well I do drive a motorbike?? HUM? Maybe build something for USPS for intercity?

I hope Elio makes it. But at 74 I don’t want to buy in because I might not be around when my number is comes up. If they go into production I certainly will be interested. It may be a bit safer than my Vino 125.

I’ve taken bigger, and stupider, gambles than this. But I’m still here to tell about them. This a small non life threating shot. Maybe it will help the future of my daughter and this country.. Although it would not be the first scam perpetrated on Americans.. I quit drinking and doing other wasteful things with no real return. So that I could have more money in my pocket and maybe have a good return on something like this. COME ON LOTTERY !!!

For people that have put down deposits, the money the gave Elio is a lot to them.

So you are comparing the Elio to the Lottery? That doesn’t sound like you have a lot of confidence that it will actually get built. Also you believe it is a Scam yet you also think it might help the future of the country and your daughter? Sounds like you are kind of conflicted about the Elio there. Have you put down a deposit?

Gee, I’d like one for my 29.6 mile one way 28 miles highway commute – Last fall, they said, Production/delivery as fall of 2015 = WE ARE THERE & Now they say… Production/delivery as fall of 2016! Yeah, we’ll all wait another year for??? I guess that because I live/commute to the Valley of LostWages everyday makes me? That’s IT! J-A-D-E-D I should gamble 1K for the privilege of? Shelling out more later to get an actual vehicle that’s likely to be RubeGoldberg… I’ll continue to drive the 10 year old twin-cam 6 speed corolla, for quite a while at this rate.

Regarding Elio they kept saying they could build it be such and such date but there have obviously been a lot of pushbacks for the production dates. Even with the money they’ve raised I’m not sure I see them getting the additional $180 million or whatever they need. It’s too bad as I would like to see Elio Motors be successful.

What is the “Valley of Lost Wages” Roy? Do you live in Southern California?

I think calling Elio a scam is misleading. A scam is never intending to do something in the first place but Elio is trying to start building cars and it might or might not suceed. Any startup is fraught with obstacles.

The reality is they are taking $1,000 “All In” deposits and really are betting everything on a Department of Energy loan that is unlikely to be approved. The business plan does not make sense so the DoE is not going to put taxpayer dollars on the line. They’ll have to get $185 million through private funding. Paul Elio and Elio motors are not refunding deposits so yes, the term scam is far in this scenario.

So has no one who posted here studied the Elio Motors website at all?? C’mon folks, get with the program!! Too many red flags that scream cans of scam. 1st one is the most obvious. You can’t promote the car if your unwilling to divulge it’s drive-train specs on the website. #2 is another obvious one. How does Elio expect to get the full cost of the car from their customers in a reasonable time frame if car payments are excepted from fuel stops at the pump?? Not logical at all. IF a vehicle could achieve 84 MPG, it would take anywhere from 2 to possibly 4 months or more to get any sort of car payment that way. And #3. Can’t sell a BRAND NEW car for 6,800 dollars expecting to make a profit. That’s also not logical since everything necessary for day to day production of the Elio is miles beyond the asking price. Building/overhead expenses, employee wages, marketing/advertising expenses. Etc. Inflation’s nice isn’t it?? I could go on, but i’ll stop there. Besides! If you want something cool with 3 wheels that has made production, try the Slingshot by Polaris. Keep your money away from Elio, and have a good day.

Forget the Elio Motors website. Check out their SEC Form 10 filing of March 2016. Spend an evening looking over this document. Then decide for yourself if
a) this is a scam
b) it’s not a scam, but the guy is delusional
c) he’s waiting for a giant fool (spelled US Government) to send him a whole bunch
of money and then maybe he’ll build a few more cars – or not.

I put down the $1000 and the website now gives the estimated target price at $6900, which is a little higher than you have in the article so maybe there is a little more profit in each unit. I figured I would like something different and $6900 isn’t much to risk. There is a market for a cheap, high mpg auto just to drive back and forth to work, especially if gas prices went back above $4. I am 68 yr old and it just looks like fun to me. It think they might sell a lot of them to people seriously concerned about climate change. In fact, if the government gives subsidies for electrics, they might consider a subsidy for a car like this that gets over 80 mpg.

I guess Elio raised the price by $100 Roy. Doubt any Eio Motors backers will make complaints, Tesla did a similar thing but raise the price a lot more for people who had deposits. Elio will probably have to raise prices to make this happen. Keep in mind the $6,900 price doesn’t include tax, dealer destination free, registration, etc.

There is a market for the Elio it it just doubtful they can get the funding to build it. The goal of the electric car subsidies is to encourage people to buy cars that do not run on gas. So why does it make sense for the US government to provide subsidies for the Elio?

I think Elio needs the government funding to do production in 2016 or 2017. Without it it may be another few years, but what is another delay? In my area I can get only gas with ethanol in it. I asked Elio if their newly developed engine would run on it. They said possibly, but would not use it in the engine in the new prototype P5 for the next year. Could this be another future problem?

Yes, Elio definitely needs government funding to continue production or complete it Tony. Paul Elio and Elio Motors had raised an incredible amount of money to date but it is still not enough. Most modern engines should be designed to handled 10% Ethanol in gasonline. It is common nowadays for a lot of gas stations to only sell that type of gas. Elio has a lot more problems to worry about before tooling and building an engine correctly. Whatever problems Elio seems to have the true supporters ignore though. Only wish I was so lucky. 🙂

I have not put a deposit or made any type of investment although I’m tempted, waiting to see how it goes. I would love to see Elio be an American success and at the same time give the American public a dependable, economical car at an affordable price. I am absolutely rooting for Elio. I am seeing these different articles stating that the odds are against them, but I certainly hope they can figure it out and make it work. It would certainly make my life a little easier, I live 25 miles from where I work, so I’m driving a 1000 + miles a month, 84 mpg would help out alot. I hope Elio is successful like VW bug and not a flop like Tucker.

hello plt, just buy yourself a toyota prius generation 3, that is 2010 through 2016 model year and you will get 65 mpg. at now ,is aug 28,2016 and elio might be starting production in 2018, if ever at all. i been watching elio since 2012 & wanted to buy an elio but needed a car right then & there, so i bought a 2008 generation 2 prius in 2012 which gets 55 mpg even in hilly country where i live.

I might die of old age in another 10 years, well before elio ever gets around to starting their FIRST YEAR’S PRODUCTION. GLAD I DIDNT PUT A DEPOSIT ON THE ELIO VAPORWARE MOBILE i would be glad to pay 12k for a elio if they would only produce one. like trump says “not gonna happen”. vaporware!

Whether this is a scam, or whether Elio cars will ever be produced is irrelevant. I wouldn’t get in one of those deathtraps for any amount of money. One altercation on the interstate with a semi and you’re a pancake.

As far as those who REALLY think their $1000.00 deposit is gong to result in a car, I can only say: “A fool and his money are soon parted.”

I do hope they make it. I am getting to old to ride motorcycle, so i sold mine and hoping for a Elio. I only went in for $100 to get on the list which i have not figured out. I agree things do not add up.It will be a lot safer than a normal motorcycle. I wish they would sell me a kit and i would put it together myself.

One, There is no reason given to call it a scam which means the company is designed to fail AND make the operators money. Everything mentioned is simply about startup risk which is inherent in all startups to some degree.

To say you doubt the economics of the venture is far different than claiming it is a scam.

Two, the difference in comparable firms is WAY off the mark due to simple supply and demand. There are no comparable vehicles in that price range by which to judge a potential market. At roughly half the cost of any other automobile, (it’s market, even though it is considered a motorcycle because it has three wheels).

I suspect there is a pent up demand for affordable new cars in that ballpark. And I do expect the cost to escalate from it’s current projection.

Remember the TUCKER in the 40’s…great car now worth millions to own one, Cheers to ELIO for trying to help America have some new wheels to drive and hope the BIG 3 don’t tear it up….besides there cars are all plastic meltdown cars,,,,, I’m sure the ELIO will be a quality build and be around for years to come……!!!!!! Keep up the good work ELIO we are with you,,, Thats the American dream…

I do not understand….why go to the expense of developing a new engine, when an “off the rack” (like your sales line says about othe parts or the car, to save money) engine is possible. …. why would i want a “car” that if have to have a motorcyle license to drive???…It would be nice if the door could be on the curb side of the thing (although I do see the problems ((shifter on the right side)) in doing so)

The answers to all of your questions are available AND without too much effort on your part by research right on the WWW. Paul has been open as to the why for each one. If you truely want to know. Empowerment and knowledge is within your reach. AND just by stating you have to have a motorcycle license to drive it tells my you truely do not care enough about the project to care one way or another.

I plunked down $1000 in 2013 and the car was delayed twice, VISA got a refund for me despite Elio no refund policy. I seriously doubt this car will see the light of day and in this time of cheap gas, no one really cares about driving a sluggish 3 cyl Elio to save a few peanuts.

Why on earth would you deposit on it? They have no proven ability to even build it. The cheapest (from what I’ve researched) car in the US is the Mitsubishi Mirage. With rebates you can get a low end one sub $10k. That’s not some pipe dream. People clamouring for fuel economy have gotten 70mpg in them. There is no risk, you can go to your dealer and buy one, with financing and with full warranty no less! It seats 4 people mostly comfortably (5 if you want to be uncomfortable).

The Elio hopes to sell for $2500 less than the bottom dollar Mistubishi? If they can even make the number (doubtful) why would you risk reliability and warranty issues?

What’s worse? No one really wants the Mirage. However it doesn’t drive poorly and offers a lot of car for the money. It crash tests well too.

How exactly is Elio going to make this a better offering?

My advice take your $1000, go to a Mitsubishi dealer, put the down payment on your Mirage. There is no possible way a startup will be able to match those costs. None.

If I didn’t say it before the Mirage is a tough sell. They can barely sell 25k of them a year and they have the capability to make them. Elio is absolutely dreaming on their figures.

Take this already limited market segment and find try and sell $2.5k less and 20mpg more if you’re lucky, plus make them wait and wait.

Growing up, I wanted to purchase a Litestar (another Autocycle) but I was never able. This is a similar idea but even a better concept. I appreciate things such as windshield wipers and climate control. I work 12×8 so it will have to be able to handle night driving and it looks like it could.
I have to wait though until I can actually sit in one due to height issues. Being at the top end of their height range makes me fairly certain that I would not fit into one. I also understand that many people think that this is a scam but I hope it will be produced.

The debut date seems to constantly drop back by a quarter or so on a regular basis. I would have no issue of plunking down the green on one of these, that is if they ever make it to the showroom floor. Some years back, well quite a few years back in the early 70’s there was a lady, later it turned out she was a he, that pulled the sales scam of the decade on General Motors and walked away with quite a chunk of change never to be seen again. I have nor will I ever pay a deposit on something that isn’t in production yet, nor has a open ended delivery date. Simply if they can make it, I’ll buy it, if not I haven’t lost a dime.

“If” is the key question. If they can make the car as cheap as they think, if it will perform as projected, if it meets all the spec’s. All of the customers who have put up down payment money share a common thread; “I believe it will all come true because I really want it to!” This is called “good old fashion American optimistic wishful thinking”. In America, we have laws and governing bodies in place to prevent this type of activity from becoming a scam, don’t we?
Everybody loves the concept, but the key factor as to whether or not Elio becomes reality is obviously management. Napoleon Hill stated that “Anything the mind of man can believe or conceive, it can achieve”. As an entrepreneur 70 years old and relatively successful, I truly believe that this concept can work. “If” the management team keeps the public informed with true facts, and “if” all efforts are concentrating on making their plan work within the perimeters that they are projecting, all of the millions of perspective buyers who are “waiting to see if it happens” (like me),will come out of the woodwork to buy an Elio.
I believe that “if” this were intended to be a scam, they would have come out with a bigger price tag, and larger minimum down payment. I don’t believe that they would publish the names and backgrounds of all their top executives who are actively involved! I’d say that they are quite an impressive group with a lot of credibility.

I seriously doubt if anyone accused Adolf Hitler of “running a scam” when he introduced the plan for a “people’s car” (Volkswagen), and look what they’ve accomplished!

So, this being said, let’s give Elio a chance to achieve this American dream before we put the “scam” label on them. You “doom forecasters” are going to have a lot of mud on your face if they pull this off. I believe they will. You go Elio!

I simply don’t like the engine in the Elio. They could have done so much better, than to source some crappy, 1 liter, 3 cylinder engine from Chevy’s Sprint from the late 80’s. Duke Engines of NZ, has one awesome engine, and the Elio with a Duke in it would have been the “IT” car to be seen in… Maybe someone at Elio will wake up.

Everyone has questions & doubts…however. it would be a great vehicle for a single, Senior person like myself. Love big luxury vehicles. owned 3 Cadillacs…2 Lincolns…& love big cars. Now I am partially disabled. The smaller the car…better to manage on the road. I am interested in the Elio, but will ask plenty questions before making my decision. Also was Sales Manager for a Lincoln\\/Mercury Dealer. Just waiting a while for more info. As a businessman, I know you can’t confide on $1,000 profit & succeed. What happened to the DeLorean?? Thanks for the input…will wait a while & see what happens. Besides….what is your profession? Just wondering if you’re just hired to by some other motor company to defame them (Sorry…wisdom comes with age). Had my own corporation in Florida (CEO & President)…before I got run over by a drunken driver.

I do not know but I would suggest 2016.I would really like to have one. I is appealing to me because I loved riding motorcycle till my legs got weak and I flew tail dragger aircraft and the Elio reminds me of both.

Elio Motors is an Obvious Hoax. Just spent some time on their website…read the fine print…its all based upon “Forward looking statements”…i.e Fantasy and Horse Pucky. ‘Anyone gullible enough to swallow this bunk deserves to be taken.
They will never produce a single vehicle. If you put down a deposit…kiss your $$ goodbye.
An Utter Scam…

The one thing that is wrong with the skepticism about building the Elio and comparing that build to other vehicles is the simplicity of the elio. There are far less parts and with the relationship with its suppliers should have no problem building the vehicles. That ofcourse is if demand stays strong and they get their losses $54,000,000 under control. I am an “all in non refundable” resorvationist. I am also a holder of 100 shares of elio stock.

There are already many well established motorcycle manufacturers with amazing motors and trike designs. Wouldn’t it make more sense for one of them to build a similar vehicle. I only found out about EMI just this summer (August 2016) yet by reading the comments this has been going on since 2006. I had thought if this car went into production and was being sold retail I would purchase one. I always wait and research a product before committing my self to a purchase. Sorry to see that it is a scam because the product itself is a great concept. I would like to see something like this on the street.

The Concept is cool and the enthusiasm is high. I believe these are the same qualities that made the Mustang and the Miata successful. Even Henry Ford would agree with the marketing philosophy . It is time American Ingenuity and Enterprise came together to compete in a world economy in which the US has been struggling . Elio has the right formula. Let us participate in another American success story!

Elio Motors’ production time frame has been pushed back, again. This time from late 2017 to 2018. The company confirmed the latest delay on its Facebook page while responding to questions posed by commenters. News of the latest delay comes just two months after Elio Motors CEO Paul Elio told the Louisiana House Commerce Committee that production of his 3-wheel vehicle would begin in Shreveport by the end of 2017.

The company still needs around $300 million more to get started.

Elio Motors faces a deadline this summer to create jobs or face a financial penalty from RACER Trust. “This is a complex timeline, it’s always subject to delay,” Elio told commerce committee members in October. “But I think if we experience delays now, it will be measured in weeks, whereas before it was measured in quarters, you know, we are getting there.”

According to Elio Motors’ latest SEC filing, the company’s accumulated deficit was $123,212,432 as of Sept. 30, 2016. In addition, the company had a working capital deficit of $25,769,911, a 6-month net loss of $34,787,800 and a 3-month net loss of $13,873,656 as of the same date. According to the filing, “These factors, among others, raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern,” it goes on to say, “If we are unable to continue to obtain financing to meet our working capital requirements, we may have to curtail our business sharply or cease operations altogether.”

KSLA News 12 reached out to Elio Motors public relations spokesman Mike DeVilling for clarification about the latest delay and is waiting to hear back.

The company was incorporated in 2009 or 2010. After seven years and $123 million dollars all he has to show for it is a handful of prototypes. I could go to any good custom bike shop and have them built for a couple hundred thousand dollars in less than a year.

This guy is a scammer and this is a giant scam. Sorry to see some good people get taken in by this scammer, but fortunately most are only in for $1000 or less so will just have to suck it up.

I confess I would purchase one, but I seriously doubt this opportunity will ever happen. Variable deposits, changing deposit deadlines, constant marketing emails…all the earmarks of a flim-flam, sizzle but no steak. Too bad, car looks great.

And now that he’s pretty much sold out his 65000 “reservations” he says he can’t build the trike unless he gets ANOTHER THREE HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS!!!!!

Seems that whenever he gets a big pile of money he immediately goes looking for a BIGGER pile of money. That’s the equivalent of another 300,000 people signing up for the thousand dollar “reservation”.

I fell for this scam in 2015 with the promise it would start production in 2016 at the latest. I have never received a production delay notice and I get weekly emails.

When I watched the CNBC broadcast a few weeks ago I realized that I was had. When put on the spot the CEO said that he was expecting production to begin in 2018! What?

They have used all of the correct legal jargon to protect themselves but I think they knew they were in trouble long before I entered the picture. I think there ability to solicit donations should end immediately. I don’t think they will ever get a government loan or they would have received it by now.

I am sad to say that I was taken by this scam. I thought it was a cool looking vehicle but it’s not going to happen. The MTX headphones they sent me were defective and replaced several times. It’s time to remove the bumper sticker from my truck. I’m glad I didn’t give them the full amount – I was tempted. It was an impulse.

I was one of the first in the US to have a Smart Car and loved it but it wasn’t practical to use as a training car for my daughter and so I sold it to a local executive. They had a similar pitch as Elio but they were backed by a real car company, Mercedes.

Too bad the Elio isn’t going to happen and you put down a deposit Mark. You are not the only person that was scammed by Paul Elio. There are countless others. At least you didn’t go “All In” with a $1,000 dollars.

Mmm, why would they send you defective headphones so many times? A lot of things regarding the Elio doesn’t make any sense.

Yes, the difference with the SmartCar was that it was backed by Mercedes and Daimler. Glad you liked owning a SmartCar but I would agree it is more ideal to have a teenager learn on a larger more normal sized vehicle.

The Elio was a good idea but like a lot of products, it will never actually be produced. 🙂

Comparing Tesla to Elio is like apples to oranges. Teslas cost over 100K. I dont know many people that can actually afford one. The Elio is a great idea. If the naysayers will stop with the negativity and try to look at the positive side of things, maybe this company will sell enough cars to make it viable.An American company building something to improve America, in America, That’s the best idea I’ve heard of lately.

I knew the CFO of Delorean. The problem they had was they put the plant in the middle of nowhere in Canada, so 6 months out of the year they couldn’t get parts or product in or out due to ice and snow in the winter, and mud in the spring. Elio was a stockbroker and they generally like to risk other people’s money. He, as far as I know, never manufactured anything. First of all, he bought too much plant. He is not GM! Secondly, if he does get to production the first cars that go to depositors will not be profitable. That will be a drain on funds. I think he should ask Donald Trump to lend him a financial team that can straighten the whole thing out. That is, if he can put his ego aside. He has a good idea that I think will sell…. but is it sustainable?

Why do people constantly say “ask Donald trump”. Here’s the deal, if it was viable, an investor would have already be found. It isn’t viable. What makes this an interest is the price. As was stated, at the price point that is “targeted” would be at loss. I got a car that runs on salt water for five grand. Of course we want a unicorn.

Donald Trump? Neither he nor his advisors have any experience in manufacturing. They are real estate investors. And as for Donald Trumps business acumen he managed to go bankrupt to the tune of nearly
a billion dollars, He’s still deducting that loss from his income taxes which is why he hasn’t paid income tax in many years now….

I went all in a few years ago and like many, was a dreamer and hoped for the best, now every year it gets pushed back and seems like not to be, if it was possible to get my $1000 back I sure would, If I could sell my stake for anything, sure would do that. Is a good thing and a good ambition, but doubt it will happen, and i should have researched it a little better and still would have my money.

PUT DOWN MY $100. EARLY ON AND BEGAN TO REALIZE THIS CAR WOULD LIKELY BE NEVER IN PRODUCTION. IN NOVEMBER 2017 I REQUSTED AREFUND AND IN MID DECEMBER I GOT MY $100.00 AS PROMISED. HAD RATHER HAD THE CAR JUST TO HAVE IT.

I just learned about the scam of the Dale Car in the 70’s and honestly the parallels are scary close. A 3 wheeled car everyone was excited about that got unheard of gas mileage cost only a few thousand dollars an nobody every saw anything come of it.

Every week or so Elio sends me an automated email about the top ten questions. THAT’S A BUNCH OF BS!!! Everyone wants to know WHEN IS PRODUCTION DATE? They never say. I just got an email stating it’s now been moved to 2019 already. WHAT A CROC! Been waiting 7 years now and I’m one of the idiots with the $1000 NON-DEPOSIT. Guess I can kiss it goodbye. FED UP with their lies year after year after year and watching them trip around the country all year using our reservation money. SPEND YOUR MONEY on something else and AVOID the scam like I did!!!! Now all I can do is tell everyone else the TRUTH about Paul Elio! 🙁

I am an automobile buff. Have been all my life. I am now 70 years old. Putting down a deposit at my age, I am sure I would NEVER live to see or own the vehicle. Reading all the articles about the Elio is interesting. Am I going to put down a deposit on one? No way! Why would I when there is NO vehicle. I believe in having something physical and real. So far all I have seen are articles on paper, nothing has been built and I cant drive one printed on paper. As for all these people that have payed out money for this vehicle, kiss it good bye. You might be alive when it goes into production but most likely you will be dead if it EVER does.

I know his is an old article but I have to point out that the math which is used to discount Elio’s chance of profitability is COMPLETELY off. The article states that since they need $250M to get started that the need to sell 250k cars at $1,000 USD margin per car to reach profitability. This implies that they need to pay off this entire investment before they can be considered “profitable”. However, much if not most of the that $250M is capital investment which companies amortize over a long time period, often 30 years.

Business accounting practices only count a portion of that capital investment towards expenses each year. All Elio has to do is sell enough cars that they can cover the depreciation and/or interest costs on that capital, plus their variable costs for that year, then they enter the realm of profitability. That becomes a totally different ball game and really needs that they need to be making ~$10M in margin per year to cover those fixed costs and enter profitability. Now your talking 10,000 cars a year. This may not represent their true capital and variable costs, but given the information in this article it is actually much easier for Elio to enter profitability than the article states.

Someone should go to jail for this scam as they seem to promise production every year and then say next year, next year, next year, etc. Some people I guess are allowed to fraud investors and get away with it like this company seems to be doing. I like many others placed a deposit years ago to be on the list to purchase one of the first ones produced in the coming year and then this message continues year after year. Then they sent out a request for the deposit too be non-refundable and I did not agree to that so maybe I could get my deposit back if they haven’t already spent it? I am still hopeful they will make the vehicle but I seriously doubt it now.

While this article compares Tesla to Elio in terms of expected cars to be sold, it has missed the most important point; the Elio will cost 7,000 per car, the Tesla, a lot more! So, it is perfectly realistic to expect to sell 68, 000 cars within the first year.